It is my pleasure to welcome Mary Adler to my blog. Check out Mary’s book “Shadowed By Death.” Lets give her our full support by following her tour.

PUPPIES AND COMPASSION AND WRITING

Follow your heart.
See where it leads you. And start right there, wherever that may be. Set your
compassion ablaze. Christi Camblor, DVM

I met
Christi almost two years ago, when I accidentally adopted a puppy from Mexico
through her rescue, Compassion without
Borders. I didn’t want to raise a puppy and I really didn’t want a dog with
issues, but life happened and our home that was filled with grief because of
the loss of our AndyPandy suddenly knew moments of joy and laughter again.

I hoped
that since Charlie was only weeks old when brought to the shelter, that she
would have escaped the harshness of life on the streets in Mexico; that the
warm supportive environment I would raise her in would result in an emotionally
stable dog. I was wrong.

Charlie
came out of the womb—literally out of the womb—terrified of the world. I
learned from an animal behaviorist that a pregnant dog who lives in fear of
human beings and other animals and has to scrounge for food and water and
shelter will pass her stress on to her puppies in utero in varying degrees.

Compassion Without Borders brings dogs from poorer
communities—Mexico and California’s central valley—to places where they have a
better chance of being adopted. They
even ship small dogs east where they are desired and in short supply. In 2017,
they rescued nearly 500 animals in the U.S. and provided access to veterinary
care and spay/neuter to over 2,000 more.

Even so,
the rescue has been criticized for going to Mexico to save dogs when there are
so many dogs here that need help. Christi explains:

“The
homeless dog here in the U.S. will, at the very least, have the chance of a
humane death if there is no chance of rescue or adoption. In turn, the animal
south of the border does not have that same guaranteed fate. He or she will
either languish, starve, or suffer on the streets or, if they are rounded up
and captured by animal control, they will be electrocuted—the most common
method of killing unwanted animals in Mexico. The need is so great. The resources so few. The animals so precious.
Why wouldn’t we help? The life of every dog is every bit as valuable as the
life of any other. Plain and simple.”

And that
brings me to the writing part. My stories are set against real issues of
racial, ethnic, and gender inequality. I care about the stories of the people
who lived during the war and suffered its social injustice. To care about what
happens to others, one must first accept that, to paraphrase Christi, “The life of every human being is every bit
as valuable as the life of any other. Plain and simple.”

Mary Adler was an attorney and dean at CWRU School of Medicine. She escaped the ivory tower for the much gentler world of World War II and the adventures of homicide detective Oliver Wright and his German shepherd, Harley. She lives with her family in Sebastopol, California, where she creates garden habitats for birds and bees and butterflies. She is active in dog rescue and does canine scent work with her brilliant dogs — the brains of the team — and loves all things Italian.

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About Shirley Harris-Slaughter

I love old buildings and history. That's why I ended up writing about the history that surrounded me all of my life - "Our Lady of Victory, the Saga of an African-American Catholic Community." Plus our church had closed and the school is torn down, so I felt it was imperative that we preserve the history or it would be lost forever.

Oh my… look at her smile! Blessings to you, Mary, for giving Charlie such a loving home. Big hugs across the miles. Thank you for sharing this with us. 🙂
Many thanks, Shirley, for hosting and for the warm welcome, as always.

Thank you for sharing Mary’s great post, Shirley. We too have only had rescue pets for many many years now. I’ve witnessed first hand the love and comfort we share with our fur babies. Several friends of ours that are being treated for PTSD have been gifted rescue dogs and the change in their ability to connect with the people around them has been remarkable. We all need that empathy and a sense of belonging.

Thank you, Soooz. I read about dogs who are trained for people with PTSD. One of the things the dogs are taught to do is to face behind the person whenever he or she stops. It is to alleviate that fear that someone is threatening from behind. My daughter has a Lab who didn’t quite make it to service dog and he is a facility dog and works with the autistic children in her school. We think he was smart enough to be a service dog but doesn’t have much of a work ethic. He’d rather lie around being petted and adored. And what’s wrong with that?

Thank you, Rhani. We have had rescues for decades now. Recently in California they passed a law that pet stores can now longer sell dogs — mainly because many of them come from puppy mills — but can offer dogs from rescues for adoption. Who are your 10 furry little dictators?

Reblogged this on Rhani DChae and commented:
I had to share this post. As willing staff to 10 furry little dictators, all rescues, I have to spread the word about any organization that is working to save God’s little lost ones.